Gum Wall is located by the box office for Unexpected Productions Market Theater. The tradition began approximately in 1993* when patrons of the theater sports event continuously stuck gum to the alley's brick wall where globs formed. UPMT staff scraped the gum away, but after a few attempts at upkeep they eventually gave up, prompting market officials to deem the wall a tourist attraction in 1999*. (*date source - Wikipedia)

YAH Says...

Gum Wall Seattle

The Gum Wall is exactly as it sounds - a wall plastered from height to width with colorful globs of gum. As disgusting as this visual attraction may seem in theory (and it indeed is from a hygienic perspective) the collections of chewy goo that droop on a warm sunny day have formed to create a rainbow toned waterfall that could easily be mistaken for an eclectic exhibit piece at the Seattle Museum of Art.

Often missed by visitors but located conveniently down the left turning alley near the main entrance of Pike Place Market, the Gum Wall offers one of the best photographic opportunities in Seattle. It has become an Instagram sensation and will continue to draw onlookers with each new piece added to the mix. Especially eccentric artists (half the population of the Pacific Northwest?) have converged upon the red brick bookended alley to contribute miniature walled gum sculptures but the appeal truly lies in the simplicity of the impromptu attraction. In the same vein that the city posted signs along the Seattle Aquarium harbor that deems the trash that files in from the marina and Puget Sound to be an "exhibit" in itself the city has been able to put a twist on yet another pollution "problem". Well done. Grab your camera and a stick of gum the next time you're in Seattle and leave your own chewed mark on this unique piece of americana at its best.

You can get into a sticky situation walking down Seattle's Post Alley late at night